Richard Lewis (journalist)

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Richard Lewis
Richard Lewis in 2018
Richard Lewis in 2018
NationalityBritish
Other namesDr. Gonzo[1]
Occupation(s)Esports journalist, livestream commentator
Known forThe Richard Lewis Show, former desk host of ELEAGUE, "By The Numbers: CS:GO" podcast co-host

Richard Lewis is a British esports journalist and livestream commentator from Wales. Having written technology articles for The Daily Dot,[2] Breitbart News,[3] and Cadred,[4] he is best known as an esports journalist and as a former desk host of ELEAGUE.[5]

Career[edit]

Broadcasting[edit]

In late 2015, it was reported that broadcasting conglomerate Turner would be launching a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professional league, called ELEAGUE, which would be aired weekly on the American television channel TBS.[6] Lewis was invited to be a host for the league in 2016.[7] In April 2018, Lewis announced that after two years with ELEAGUE he would be leaving as the full-time host to pursue other opportunities.[8]

In November 2015 at DreamHack Winter 2015, police were called following a physical altercation between Lewis and Alliance Dota 2 player Jonathan 'Loda' Berg. On Twitter, Berg claimed he was strangled by Lewis, and Lewis responded saying he acted defensively when confronted by Berg who should not have been allowed backstage. Lewis told PC Gamer he apologized to Berg and that the police found it reasonable he felt threatened by Berg's actions. Police confirmed an assault was reported but no charges were filed.[9][3] DreamHack responded saying that Berg "aggressively approached" Lewis, and while the two were yelling at each other, Lewis was the first to initiate physical contact by grabbing Berg's neck when he felt threatened. DreamHack intended to ask both Berg and Lewis to leave, but after apologizing to each other they were allowed to stay, however, DreamHack announced they would no longer work with Richard Lewis. "We cannot condone violent behavior at our events."[10]

In July 2018, ESP Gaming announced that Richard Lewis would serve as Director of Talent and oversee the on-air personalities for a new multi-genre esports tournament series called the "World Showdown of Esports (WSOE)."[11]

In October and November 2021, Lewis was the desk host of the PGL Major Stockholm, the first CS:GO major in two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

In October 2022, Lewis became a contributor to a new esports media network Last Free Nation co-founded by Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles and Duncan "Thorin" Shields.[13] Lewis hosts "The Four Horsemen" podcast with Mykles and Shields.[14]

Journalism[edit]

In January 2015, Lewis broke the story that two professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams, iBUYPOWER and ShahZam, were conspiring in a match fixing scandal for financial reward in 2014. Valve, the game's developer, later permanently banned the players involved from any tournaments organized by the company.[15]

In 2015, Lewis reported that moderators of the League of Legends subreddit had signed non-disclosure agreements and received free swag from the game's developer Riot Games, and that several former moderators were later hired by the company, despite public statements that the subreddit was fully independent from Riot.[16][17] A month later, a moderator for the subreddit announced Lewis's content was indefinitely banned from the subreddit after alleged harassment from Lewis's fans.[18] Lewis disputed the allegations of abusive behavior, and argued that he had never asked his followers on Twitter to harass Reddit users.[19]

In September 2020, Lewis became the first editor-at-large of Dexerto.[20]

In 2022, Lewis broke the story that a former TSM coach was soliciting payments from prospective players in exchange for ensuring they would be added to the roster.[21][22] Later that year, Lewis broke the story that TSM was looking to sell their franchised LCS slot,[23] which they later did in 2023.[24]

In March 2023, Lewis broke the news about the imminent launch of Counter-Strike 2.[25]

Other professional activities[edit]

In Fall 2021, Lewis began working as a lecturer at the University of New Haven, teaching an online course for student in the school's Master’s in Esports Business program, alongside Declan Hill.[26]

Awards[edit]

In 2016 Lewis was awarded the "Esports Journalist of the Year" award by Esports Industry Awards.[27] In 2019, Lewis won the award a second time. In his 2019 acceptance speech, Lewis criticized gaming outlets such as Kotaku and Polygon for gatekeeping the games industry.[28] In 2020 Lewis was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Esports Industry Awards.[29] In 2023 Lewis won his third Esports Journalist of The Year Award.[30][unreliable source?]

Personal life[edit]

Lewis was a close friend and roommate of Maria "Remilia" Creveling, the first woman to play in the League Championship Series. He was the first to publicly announce her 2019 death.[31][32]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Lewis, Richard (May 11, 2009). "Guest column: How Valve can fix Counter Strike". TechRadar. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  2. ^ "Articles by Richard Lewis". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved Nov 20, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Good, Owen S. (Dec 1, 2015). "Backstage fight at esports tournament reignites in social media". Polygon.
  4. ^ "Richard Lewis | Esports Awards". EsportsAwards.com. 18 May 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  5. ^ "ELeague Host Richard Lewis: 'I Want Turner to be the Last Job I Ever Have'". Rolling Stone. June 16, 2017. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018.
  6. ^ Schwartz, Nick (Sep 23, 2015). "Turner buys into eSports with creation of new 'Counter-Strike' league".
  7. ^ "ELEAGUE Season 1 - Richard Lewis: "Turner respect the sport"". HLTV.org. May 23, 2016.
  8. ^ Van Allen, Eric (Apr 7, 2018). "Richard Lewis Leaves Full-time Hosting Job At Eleague". Kotaku.
  9. ^ Thursten, Chris (Nov 30, 2015). "Police called to DreamHack Winter 2015 over alleged assault". PC Gamer.
  10. ^ Thursten, Chris (Dec 1, 2015). "Richard Lewis "initiated physical contact" according to DreamHack". PC Gamer.
  11. ^ Cropley, Steven (July 10, 2018). "Fight Card-Style 'World Showdown of Esports' Tournament Announced". VPEsports. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved Nov 21, 2018.
  12. ^ Biazzi, Leonardo (4 October 2021). "PGL Stockholm Major talent lineup revealed". Dot Esports. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  13. ^ Šimić, Ivan (11 October 2022). "MonteCristo and Thorin launch media network Last Free Nation, featuring major esports personalities". Esports Insider. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  14. ^ Christopher Mykles, Duncan Shields, Richard Lewis (23 February 2021). Should LCS REMOVE player REGION LOCKING? - The Four Horsemen S1E1 (feat. Danan) (Podcast). Last Free Nation. Retrieved 9 February 2023 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ Lewis, Richard (16 January 2015). "New evidence points to match-fixing at highest level of American Counter-Strike". Dot Esports. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  16. ^ Lewis, Richard (Mar 28, 2015). "League Reddit mods signed non-disclosure agreements with Riot Games". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on May 17, 2016.
  17. ^ Lewis, Richard (Mar 31, 2015). "A look at the relationship between Riot Games and the League of Legends subreddit". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on May 25, 2016.
  18. ^ "Subreddit Ruling: Richard Lewis". Reddit. 22 April 2015.
  19. ^ LeJacq, Yannick (Apr 23, 2015). "The League Of Legends Subreddit Is Having A Rough Month". Kotaku. Retrieved Nov 20, 2018.
  20. ^ Kent, Mike (September 11, 2020). "Dexerto names Richard Lewis as first Editor-at-Large of Dexerto.com". Dexerto. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  21. ^ Lewis, Richard (20 March 2022). "Sources: TSM League coach Peter Zhang fired for alleged financial irregularities". Dexerto.
  22. ^ Lewis, Richard (27 May 2022). "TSM investigation confirms coach's inappropriate behaviour around player salaries". Dexerto.
  23. ^ Lewis, Richard (28 July 2022). "TSM recently considered selling LCS slot". Dexerto.
  24. ^ Datuin, Sage (21 May 2023). "Where TSM should go after leaving LCS". Esports Illustrated. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  25. ^ Roth, Emma (5 March 2023). "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is reportedly getting a major update soon". The Verge. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  26. ^ Chmiel, Renee (17 November 2021). "Renowned Journalist to Teach Esports Integrity Course at the University". University of New Haven. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  27. ^ @esportsawards (November 21, 2016). "You have chosen @RLewisReports as your #eSports Journalist of The Year!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. ^ Tamburro, Paul (November 18, 2019). "Richard Lewis uses Esports Awards 2019 speech to call out Polygon, Kotaku, and Waypoint". Game Revolution. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  29. ^ Ashford, Alex (2021-08-17). "Richard Lewis | Esports Awards". Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  30. ^ Gardner, Matt (December 1, 2023). "Esports Awards 2023 Winners: Faker, Team Vitality, Riot Get Top Honors". Forbes. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  31. ^ Wolf, Jacob (28 December 2019). "Remilia, first woman to compete in LCS, dies at 24". ESPN. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  32. ^ Hitt, Kevin (31 December 2019). "Reflecting on the Passing of League of Legends Esports Pioneer Maria 'Remilia' Creveling". The Esports Observer. Retrieved 28 September 2023.

External links[edit]

Richard Lewis's Substack

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